1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a language translation system. More specifically, the invention provides for a network based language translation system that is able to provide for communication between multiple users where each of the users may be utilizing a different spoken or written language.
2. Related Art
Currently, it is possible to translate text or speech communications from one language to another by utilizing a computer with translation software installed. For example, a user could enter text, in English, into a computer and have the text translated into a different language, e.g., Spanish, by a translation program and output as text in the translated language. Whereas translation of both text and speech is possible with current translation programs, because the current capability of speech recognition software is somewhat limited in its ability to recognize a wide variety of words and speech patterns, spoken language translation is only available in restricted domains where a limited variety of words are spoken. For example, if a medical doctor desires to verbally record information concerning a patient and have that verbal record recognized by speech recognition software and translated into a different language, current technology allows for this to be accomplished. Because the database of recognizable words is limited, i.e., to terms related to medical diagnoses, current software is able to recognize the words of this limited domain and translate these words to another language.
Whereas current technology allows for translation of text and some limited speech to different languages, current known methods for language translation are limited in their capabilities. Language translation is currently accomplished by utilizing stand-alone computers, such as a personal computer (PC), with language translation software installed thereon. This presents drawbacks. For example, language translation programs can be expensive and the requirement for an individual to have to purchase their own language translation software, or for a business entity to have to provide each employee's computer with language translation software if that employee requires this capability, can result in financial burdens for the individual and the business entity. Additionally, each time an upgrade to the program is required, it could be required that the upgrade program be individually purchased for each stand-alone computer, resulting in additional expenses. At the very least, the upgrade must be individually installed on each user's computer which results in additional time requirements.
Additional problems with utilizing a stand-alone computer for language translation is that of computer processing capability. To store a language translation program on a stand-alone computer, such as a personal computer, could require storage capacity that is either not available on the computer or is required for other purposes. Additionally, because relatively limited processing capability is available on a personal computer, the ability to upgrade the capabilities of the language translation programs that may be stored on the PC is limited.
An additional problem with stand-alone computer based language translation programs is their inability to support multiple users. With the increasing popularity and use of "chat sessions" on the Internet, participants in these chat sessions may be limited in their ability to communicate with other participants if the other participants speak, and thus communicate over the network, in a different language. If each participant's personal computer contains language translation software, then the parties may be able to communicate with each other, however, as addressed above, the requirement to load each user's computer with this software could be expensive. Also, because delays may occur in the conduct of the chat session due to the requirement to translate each communication received from a participant at each user's computer, the efficiency, and thus enjoyment, of the chat session can be reduced for the participants.
An additional drawback in the multi-user environment with the current language translation systems is that each of the multiple users may be communicating in a different language. Therefore, each participants' personal computer may have to translate communications from numerous different languages, which again requires more expensive software and additional processing capability.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a network based language translation system. The network based system could provide for both translating communications of a single user and could support multiple users, where each user is communicating in a different language. The greater processing power available in the network would allow for translation of communications in both text and speech and for accommodating increasingly capable language translation software programs.